Being with someone for the right reasons
by Shrimpmeister
Summary: Alternate ending to Some Kind of Wonderful. Rated T for scenario, story contains no sex or language to offent.


"You know earlier, when I said I'd rather be with someone for the wrong reasons, than be alone for the right?" said Amanda, as she unhooked the diamond stud earrings she was wearing.

"Yeah" said Keith, anticipating this change of heart in Amanda.

"Well, that's all true still. Only, I just figured out that you can be with someone, and it still be right. Only I'm sorry, Keith. I really think I love you, but right now, I have to go give these to someone."

Keith s jaw dropped, as Amanda started running down the street after Watts.

"Hey! Hold up!"

Watts stopped walking and tried her hardest not to turn and look at the other girl. She had heard Amanda's shouts, and dare not think that the emotions that had kicked in this evening for her had been in any way shared.

She'd seen a new side to Amanda Jones this night. Up to now, all she had known, or wanted to know, was the image Amanda had portrayed: the spoilt little princess. Worse than that, the wannabe princess that had somehow managed to punch so far above her weight for so long. She'd sold out, and that was the one crime that Watts had always held as most heinous.

But tonight she'd seen more. Standing on the outside of Keith's date , amongst all the emotions that had bought tears, chills and fears to the forefront of her mind, she'd been watching Amanda. Not just because she was so close to Keith all the time, and that she'd been morbidly addicted to seeing them settle their differences and understand that their worlds were not as far apart as it had seemed. She had also reluctantly learned that there was so much more than the wannabe princess, grabbing the headlines from the wrong side of the tracks. There was depth, substance, a reliance on herself that Watts had never thought possible. Certainly more than simply the superficial beauty without brains that she had noticed and then dismissed. No - not dismissed ..

Amanda caught up with her, and stood for a second, her hands on her knees whilst she caught her breath.

"These are for you" she said, holding out the studs. Watts looked at them, with a gentle smile on her lips.

"I wanted those . Boy did I want those!" she said, reaching out her hand. But Amanda closed her fingers, denying them to the girl opposite.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Um... sure" said Watts, not sure what was coming.

"Tell me about tonight. Not for me, not for Keith. Tell me about tonight for you? Please?"

Watts shrugged. If this was the price of the studs, and the start of whatever the future held for her, then why not? She'd imagined enough pivotal life-changing moments to recognise this as one of the biggies.

"When I heard about your date tonight, it broke me apart. You know, I've been in love with Keith since fourth grade. He was always the one person I could turn to. I had no real input from my parents, and my brothers didn't care. But Keith was always there for me.

"So when this night came up, and we knew what Hardy's plans were, there was no way I was letting him go in alone. I was like his wingman.

Amanda nodded. "But surely you knew how hard that would be for you?"

"Of course I did. No offence, but I didn't for one second imagine that once the initial gloss wore off, he'd still be interested in you. I only ever saw you as a princess. You re beautiful, but you never really came over as all that deep, you know?"

Watts could see that her comments had hit home hard. She half regretted being so honest, but Amanda gestured for her to continue.

"Thing is, there's always a chance I was going to be wrong about you, or about him. And while I reckon I understood Keith, I was sure wrong about you."

"In what way wrong?" asked Amanda.

"Remember that all I knew about you was what I had seen. I'd never spoken to you, never thought about talking to you, and never understood what people saw in you. No, that last one's a lie. I knew what people saw in you all right. After two years of gym class, how could I not see that?"

"What are you saying?"

Oh boy, thought Watts. OK here goes nothing ..

"Look at me. I have muscles everywhere you have curves. I wear boy's underwear for comfort; I keep my hair short because I don't know how to do anything else with it. I rarely wear a bra because nobody notices whether I do or not. Basically, nobody notices.

"And then there's you. The times I have stood in the locker room after gym class, watching you out of the corner of my eye. I don't even think you realise when you're striking poses, it all comes so natural. Do you have any idea how envious I've been?

"I've wanted to look like you and act like me for ever. What got me through was believing that you were as shallow as your friends. And now I find out that you are smart, and strong, and independent, and determined..." Watts stopped speaking, emotion pricking her eyes and forcing her to blink away the tears. When she continued, her voice cracked and it was barely audible.

"I get what he sees in you. Everything....."

Amanda slowly opened her hand, revealing once again the diamond studs.

"As I said, these are for you."

Watts looked at the glittering stones.

"Why didn't Keith bring them?" she asked.

"Because these aren't from Keith. They are from me."

Watts' gaze jumped up to Amanda's face. And after a very long second, it was Amanda who looked away.

"You re not the only one that has learned stuff tonight. All the things that you have learned about me, I have learned abut myself and more. I always knew I needed to be stronger, needed to stand up to what I had become. But I didn't know that I had the courage to do it until tonight. I've learned that Keith is an incredible person, with more principles and character than all my old friends combined. I have learned that far from pitying him for what I thought he was, I love him for who he is. But it s not all about him.

"I saw something else tonight - someone else - for the first time.

"All this new-found strength - it s all because of you. Nobody I know would do so much for their friends, especially feeling like you did. I kinda knew a lot of that stuff about you and Keith before, just from watching you two around school.

"But you always made sure your image stayed in place as much as I ever did. I never knew that underneath the tough, attitude-filled rebel was a really beautiful person."

Amanda reached up, as if to place one of the studs in Watts' right ear. When her hand was alongside the other girls tear stained cheek, she paused, and gently touched her face.

"What"s your first name? I ve only ever heard Keith call you Watts"

"It's Susan"

"That's nice. Susan, do you think it s possible to fall in love with two people in one night?"

The lightest of touches were like lightning strikes, the shock hitting every nerve of Watts body. Their eyes met, and Watts raised her right hand and covered Amanda's, as she slowly curled her fingers around Watts' head and gently closed the distance between their mouths.

The kiss, when it happened, affected Watts every bit as much as the one with Keith earlier in the garage. Then, the smell of grease, motor-oil and gasoline had filled her nostrils, and she had gripped denim, felt the arousing roughness of his unshaven face upon her skin. Now, the aroma was of expensively subtle perfume, the rustle of finely tailored cloth against her arm, and softness like she had never felt against her cheek. Even the mild aftertaste of their earlier burger meal at the restaurant heightened the unimagined pleasure she felt at the closeness of this wonderful, beautiful person.

Slowly they parted, and gazed into each other s eyes.

"What about Keith?" asked Watts, her voice barely a whisper.

"I don't know. But what I said earlier was true - I fell in love twice tonight. How do you feel?"

Watts turned to look back down the road, where Keith still stood watching them. It was clear even sixty yards away that he couldn't quite believe what he had just seen. And Watts smiled.

"He's still the man of my dreams, and my first true love. But now, I think that there's room for one more in my heart"

Taking Amanda's hand in hers, she turned and the two girls walked slowly back over to Keith. Both of them somehow knew that, judging the anxious look on his face, explaining how the three of them were now linked by love would be easy .


End file.
